


Come In To Me

by galacticsugar



Series: tumblr prompts - ways to say i love you [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Swearing, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticsugar/pseuds/galacticsugar
Summary: Sometimes Calum just needs to be alone. It’s a pretty major inconvenience. With his lifestyle, he doesn’t get very many opportunities to be truly alone. But even when the band is at their busiest, Calum can usually look forward to at least a couple of hours to himself every week, whether it’s sitting in a hotel room or sequestering himself in a corner of the airport lounge. It’s not enough, it’s never enough, but it recharges his battery just the little bit that he needs to keep on going.***tumblr prompt "I brought you an umbrella"
Relationships: Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin
Series: tumblr prompts - ways to say i love you [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138103
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Come In To Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [humanluke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanluke/gifts).



> For the tumblr prompt “I brought you an umbrella” from [mandie](https://cakelftv.tumblr.com/), who challenged me to write my first cashton.

Sometimes Calum just needs to be alone. It’s a pretty major inconvenience. With his lifestyle, he doesn’t get very many opportunities to be truly alone. But even when the band is at their busiest, Calum can usually look forward to at least a couple of hours to himself every week, whether it’s sitting in a hotel room or sequestering himself in a corner of the airport lounge. It’s not enough, it’s never _enough_ , but it recharges his battery just the little bit that he needs to keep on going.

Ashton doesn’t need to be alone, ever. In fact, when Ashton spends too much time on his own, it’s a recipe for disaster. This isn’t usually a problem for them. Being with Ashton is almost as good as being alone for Calum, because he can relax and let his guard down, and he knows that Ashton will still love him no matter what.

But after nine months of being stuck at home with Ashton, _never_ alone, Calum’s starting to go a little crazy. It’s not Ashton’s fault. Calum just can’t keep giving Ashton what he needs - answering all his thoughtful questions, laughing at his silly jokes, spending every spare moment together because Ashton can’t get enough of him. 

There are too many spare moments. Every moment is a spare moment. Calum feels the pressure constantly. To be responsive and agreeable, and to give Ashton what he deserves - his excitement and positivity reflected back at him. Calum just can’t do it. 

He _could_ do it, most of the time, back when he still had opportunities to be alone and recharge. But now every time Ashton opens his mouth, Calum’s shoulders start to sag, because he just doesn’t have the energy. He knows he’s going to disappoint Ashton with his quiet, mumbled responses, and the last thing he wants to do is make Ashton feel bad.

“What do you want to do tonight?” Ashton’s perky voice beats him down the staircase and Calum retreats into the corner of the sofa, head drooping further into his book.

He makes a sound - a groan or a sigh, he doesn’t quite know what it is, but he’s been making it a lot these days. He tries to force out a word as Ashton reaches the bottom of the stairs, a dimpled grin on his face. Calum can at least do that much for him. “Dunno.” 

“Oh hey, I listened to a podcast you might like!” Ashton’s perky tone slices somewhere deep in Calum’s brain. Ashton keeps smiling, talking about the podcast, relaying funny bits he thinks Calum might like. Calum is tuning it out, protecting himself from all this input; all this stimulation that he just can’t deal with right now.

When Ashton notices Calum’s lack of response, his smile falters and his shoulders drop. “Should I just leave you alone and find something to do on my own?” He knows how Calum is. He’s trying to be helpful.

But he sounds so sad. It’s not that Calum doesn’t want to spend time with Ashton. He just...doesn’t want to spend time with _anyone_. And the worst thing is, even if they spend their evenings in opposite corners of the house, Calum’s still not going to feel any better tomorrow, because the weight of Ashton’s expectations will still be hovering in the atmosphere. 

It’s not Ashton’s fault. Calum just feels so selfish; that meeting his own needs comes at the expense of meeting Ashton’s. But in reality, neither of them is getting what they need. Maybe it’s no one’s fault, but Calum still feels like it’s his. 

With a heavy sigh, Calum nods. “I guess so. I can go upstairs and read if you want the TV.”

Calum retreats to their bedroom and lets himself get wrapped up in his book, occasionally distracted by the sound of Ashton giggling at whatever he’s watching on TV. It’s a beautiful sound, it means the person he loves is happy, and usually he loves hearing it. But tonight -- just like yesterday, and the day before that, and probably tomorrow too -- it just sets Calum’s nerves on edge.

He’s at the climax of his book, finally fully absorbed in the pages in front of him, when Ashton’s voice comes echoing up the stairwell. “Duke wants out!”

Calum groans and throws his book down in frustration. It’s not a big deal. He knows he’s being irrational. He just wanted to finish his book in peace. To have a chunk of time where it was just him and what he wanted to do and to not have to answer to anyone. He’s not angry. He’s defeated.

He quickly grabs a hoodie from his closet and throws it on as he huffs down the stairs. Ashton’s already at the front door with Duke, clipping on his leash. Duke is _his_ responsibility. Ashton has his hands full dealing with Calum; the least he can do is take care of his own dog. “I’ve got it,” he says, taking the leash out of Ashton’s hand and leading Duke out the door. Ashton lets him go.

And, fuck, it’s raining, but it matches Calum’s mood, so he just leads Duke toward the sidewalk to follow their usual path around the block. Duke takes his sweet time, sniffing at all the fallen leaves and cocking his head at the earthworms crawling along the corners of the sidewalk. They make it to the corner when Calum hears splashing behind him. He turns around to see Ashton sprinting towards him, boots kicking up sprays of water with every step.

Ashton reaches him, breathing a little heavy, and holds out a hand. “I brought you an umbrella.” It’s Calum’s umbrella, even, the one he prefers because it’s clear and lets him see more than just the ground in front of him. 

Calum takes the umbrella and pops it open, then shuffles closer to Ashton so he can hold the umbrella over both their heads. “Thanks,” he says, leaning his head on Ashton’s shoulder.

Ashton wraps an arm around Calum’s waist and squeezes him to his side. “Any time.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr [@staticsounds](https://staticsounds.tumblr.com/); come say hi!


End file.
